Influenza vaccinations may help reduce the risk of having a stroke, which may be triggered by the exact respiratory infections flu shots are designed to combat, according to recent research published in the journal Vaccine, and covered by MD Magazine.
To study the connection between the flu vaccine and strokes, researchers collected data on more than 17,800 patients from the General Practice Research Database between September 2001 and May 2009, which they converted to incidence rate ratios.
Highlighted below are five findings on how getting a flu vaccine reduced patients' incidence rate ratios for stoke.
1. One to three days post-vaccination: 55 percent reduction
2. Four to seven days post-vaccination: 36 percent reduction
3. Eight to 14 days post-vaccination: 30 percent reduction
4. Fifteen to 28 days post-vaccination: 24 percent reduction
5. Twenty-nine to 59 days post-vaccination: 17 percent reduction
The greatest decline in incidence rate ratio occurred in those who received their vaccination early — between Sept. 1 and Nov. 15 —compared to those who received their vaccination later.
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Flu vaccine helps reduce influenza, pneumonia hospitalizations
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